Bad Moon Rising
by WritePassion
Summary: A sequel to Total Eclipse. Michael, Sam, Jack, and Jesse make plans for the Thanksgiving holiday, and Marlo is locked up in a psychiatric facility. Or is she?
1. Chapter 1

_This started out as Chapter 10 of Total Eclipse, but it quickly began to take on a life of its own. Just think of it as Part 2._

**Bad Moon Rising**

By WritePassion

After Marlo's arrest, Michael decided not to take any new cases for a little while, at least until after the holidays. He wouldn't admit it to anyone, but the seriously unstable woman shook him. She was incredibly dangerous, and if what they'd witnessed was just the tip of the iceberg, he was thankful she never got involved with the likes of Carla, Brennan, Gilroy, or any of the other truly evil people who'd crossed his path over the years. It was time to get away from all of that for awhile.

He started by meeting up with his friends, just a guy outing at Carlito's with Jack, Jesse, and Sam. That was a new one for him, to just spend time talking about anything but work. It would take some practice, but he was willing to try for his sake, and that of his family. He'd been working too hard for too many years, and he realized it was catching up with him. His encounter with Marlo was a wake up call that he needed to lay low for awhile and just enjoy what he had, his family and friends, and what better time of year to do it. As he listened to the guys, he focused on Sam, secretly wishing he could be more like him. The man could be serious and all business when it counted, but off the clock, he knew how to relax and have a good time. He was only outdone by his friend Jack, who was a little too loose for Michael's taste, but he was a good guy to have around when the chips were down.

"We're going camping over the Thanksgiving weekend," Sam announced as he set down his mojito.

Jack turned and asked, "Oh yeah? Where are you going?"

"Far from Miami, I can tell you that," he replied with a laugh. "Eve wants to escape for awhile, so I figured we'd go up the coast to Anastasia State Park. It's not far from St. Augustine." He sighed and leaned back in his chair. "It's quiet, right on the ocean, but the campgrounds are in the woods and far apart enough to make it feel like you're out in the middle of nowhere."

"You've done some research, huh Sam," Michael asked, entertaining in his head the crazy notion of joining them.

"I was talkin' to a buddy of mine right after this thing with Marlo, and he said he went up there with his family. The kids loved it. There's enough to see in St. Augustine, and at the park, lots of room for the kids to run around and have fun." He grinned. "And they'll get to see a part of the state they've never seen before."

"Sounds like a nice retreat from the rat race," Jesse said. "Enjoy it."

Michael glanced at Jesse. He could tell by his tone of voice that something was wrong. "You want to talk about something, Jesse?"

He shook his head. "No man, what would I want to talk about? You guys have plenty, kids, wives, vacations, stuff like that."

"Hey, I don't have any kids," Jack interrupted.

"But you're married."

"Ahhh, I get it." Jack smiled at Jesse over his beer. "You're feeling a little out of place. Hey man, just console yourself with the fact that sometimes we wish we were you. You've got a freedom we don't have, do what you want, when you want..."

"Well, it's not all it's cracked up to be. Let me tell you that."

"I bet if you came along on our camping trip, you'd be thankful for what you've got by the time you get home," Sam joked.

Jesse grimaced. "I think I'll pass on that, Sam. Thanks, anyway." He leaned forward and played with his half empty bottle. "No, I'm just gonna hang out on the beach, see if I can find another lonely soul, female, of course..." He grinned. "And then we'll see where it goes."

The other three let out a sound of envy as they raised their glasses and bottles and drank.

"You got any plans, Jack," Sam asked his friend.

"Sash and I are taking a sea plane to Key West for the holiday. That's our idea of getting away from it all." He smiled slowly, and they could see him picturing the white sand beaches and aqua waters. "We'll probably rent a sailboat and live on it for a few days."

"Well, what about you, Mike?" Sam asked and took an onion ring from the platter of appetizers in the center of the table.

He shrugged. "You know, I have no idea. Fi's brought up all kinds of suggestions, but nothing really sounds good."

"Hey, I know what your problem is, Mikey. You haven't truly relaxed in so long, you've lost touch with how to do it," Sam observed wisely. "Luke is still pretty young yet. Maybe you need to leave him with Maddie and Dad and you and Fi just get in the car and drive somewhere."

"No. Wherever we go, I want it to be with him. And I'm not saying that just because that's what Fi would want me to say." He paused and took off his sunglasses, meeting his friend's gaze. "It's because I really want to spend time with him, just to...I don't know. Forge a bond, maybe? Just be anything but what my dad was. That's what I want more than anything."

"Well then, maybe you'd be best off going north with us," Sam said with a grin. "Nothing like the great outdoors to build family unity."

A warmth filled Michael's eyes. "Is that a formal invitation?"

"You bet it is, Mike. I know Eve has been looking for a chance to spend more time with Fi, and I know she'd love to spoil Lucas a little bit. So yeah, you're all welcome to come along."

"Thank you, Sam. I'll talk to Fi about it. We'll have to get some gear, but...I can't imagine her saying 'no'."

Sam's phone rang, and Jesse smirked. "Uhoh, that sounds like a wife jingle."

"How would you know?" Sam picked his phone out of his pocket, held it up and looked a the screen. He frowned.

Jesse laughed. "Was I right?"

Sam just looked at him with a perturbed expression as he said, "Hello, honey."

The others laughed, and Sam shushed them. Then he stood and moved away so he could hear her. Jesse and Jack clinked beer bottles and Michael grinned and shook his head. He was starting to get the hang of this guy camaraderie thing. And he enjoyed it. He glanced at Sam and noted that he stuffed the phone back into his pocket and returned to the table.

Michael took a swig of his beer and asked, "Everything okay, Sam?"

"Yeah. I just have to get home. If we're going to go on a trip, we need to prep." He picked up his sunglasses and left a ten for his drink. "See you guys later, have a great holiday. Mike, will we see you tomorrow? Six a.m. we're leaving."

"Six? Really?"

"It's a long trip, almost 400 miles, and with two kids, it'll take at least seven and a half hours to get there. We figure if we start early, they'll sleep in the car for awhile. Maybe we can get up to Port St. Lucie before we have to stop for the first potty break."

Michael chuckled. "Sounds like you've got it all figured out."

"You'll learn, Mike. You have to plan for all contingencies when there are kids involved."

Just then, Michael's phone rang. Jack remarked, "And there goes another one. Time to go home, Mikey, the little woman wants you."

"No, actually, it's Pearce." He said as he glanced at the screen and muted the ringer before setting the phone on the table.

"Holy cow, Mike! You're making progress," Jack teased. "Give you a little more time and you'll be completely free of that woman and the agency."

"Not really. She just knows I told her no jobs until after the new year, and if she called before then, I wouldn't answer." He sighed and stood. "She tried, and now she knows I wasn't kidding." He swiped his phone off the table, took one last sip of his beer, and held up his hand to get the server's attention. She came over with a smile. "We're ready to settle up here."

"I'll get your tab, Michael."

After they made sure the bill was taken care of, everyone broke away and headed to their own cars. With a repeat of the invitation and a reminder of when they were leaving, Sam got in his car and went home. He didn't expect to see a car parked along the side when he pulled into the driveway. Yvette had taken the kids out to eat and she wasn't expected back for another half hour or so. Sam closed the garage door and warily came out the side door, eyeing the vehicle. When Detective Paxson got out, he released a silent sigh of relief.

"Well, this is a surprise," he said as she met him near the back porch. "What's up, Detective?"

"Like your house. Haven't seen it since you were rebuilding and Angela and her friend got the jump on you."

"Yeah, thanks for the reminder. Come to give me some self-defense tips?" It had been awhile since they communicated, and Sam thought by her statements and body language that maybe they were on the outs again. But the solemn look on her face as she stood under the porch light told him differently. He changed to a more serious tone as he asked, "What's wrong?"

"Marlo Culpepper."

"Is that her real name?"

"Yeah." Paxson nodded. "You and Westen and your friends might want to keep close watch. She escaped from the secure mental facility that she's been housed in for the past week." She let out a long breath. "They had her on some drugs and she seemed to be responding well to them, so..."

"So some moron decided to give her a little more freedom, and she took advantage of it. Right?" He muttered something under his breath about the state penal system.

"That's about it. So now we've got an APB on her and no clue where she could be. When she escaped she was wearing some nurse's scrubs, so who knows." She looked down at the bottom step before glancing up at him with an apology in her eyes. "I'm really sorry about this, Sam."

"It's not your fault." Sam shrugged. Headlights swung in an arc and hit them before stopping in the driveway. "Thanks for the warning, though."

"You're welcome." She turned her head to watch Yvette and the kids get out of the car. "If I were you, Sam, I'd get out of town for awhile. And tell Westen to do the same. He's got a family to protect now, too."

It took Sam a few seconds to find his voice. He wasn't used to Paxson actually being concerned for them and their well-being. "It just so happens we're leaving tomorrow morning for Anastasia State Park, and Mike is probably coming along with his family."

"Word of advice: go armed."

"I plan on it." He nodded and watched his wife get Samuel out of the car. His family was the most valuable thing he had, and he wasn't about to let them stumble into danger. "I wasn't going to before, but now...we'll be ready in case she finds us."

"Good luck. And try to have a good time." She smiled thinly and left, and as she passed Yvette, said hello before disappearing into the darkness.

"What did she want," Yvette asked as she came into the light. She carried Samuel in her arms, and he rested his head on her shoulder.

"Looks like somebody is ready for bed."

"Sam..."

"Don't worry about it, Eve. It was nothing." He took Samuel from her and she unlocked the door. After he put his son to bed, Sam went out to the garage to begin loading the car for the next day. Yvette brought a couple of loads out from the house, and Esperanza helped. When he was finally alone, he called Michael.

"Yeah, Sam."

"Are you guys coming along tomorrow?"

"I talked to Fi about it. I don't think she's all that crazy about it, but..."

"Crazy. Speaking of...when I came home, Paxson was here to bring me a little message." He paused. "Marlo broke out of the psych facility."

"Great."

"She suggested we get out of town for awhile, and I told her about our plans." He thought before speaking again, because he knew Michael would only get stubborn if he pressed it. "She said I should tell you to go with us, so that's what I'm doing."

"I'll talk to Fi. I think this might be just what I needed to get her to agree to this. The last thing she wants to do is run into Marlo. Although, if she did, I don't think that we'd have to worry about a trial, at least not for Marlo."

"Yeah, I know what you mean," Sam said with an ominous tone. "I know she won't get a very good welcome if Eve is around. We're better off just getting out of town and hoping they catch her before we come back."

"We'll see you tomorrow, Sam. Before six."

"You got it, Mike."


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

"Michael, what are you doing? You'll wake Lucas!" Fiona tried to keep her voice down as she stood at the back of the loft with hands on hips watching him gather equipment.

"We're going camping with Sam and his family." He looked up at her, and in his eyes there was no room for discussion. "Sam called me a little while ago, while you were getting Luke ready for bed. Marlo's out, and they don't know where she is."

"So we run? Michael, that isn't like you! We should stay and..." She moved until she was only a couple of feet away and looked deep into his eyes, wondering at what she saw in his. He was backing down from a fight, and it unsettled her.

"No, Fi! Things are different now! I have a family to take care of, and I'm not going to let her threaten us anymore."

"Then we should stay and fight." She stood her ground, arms crossed, a defiant and angry set to her mouth.

Michael shook his head. "No. If we come back from our weekend and she's still on the loose, we'll leave Luke with Ma and Dad and take her on." He straightened, approached Fiona, and cupped her shoulders tenderly with his hands as he looked down at her with intensity in his eyes. "Fi, I promised we'd get away from things for awhile and relax. This is as good a time as any."

"How will you be able to relax if you think she may be following us?"

"She doesn't know where we're going. It's okay." He smiled confidently. "And we'll go prepared, so in case she does happen to find us...we'll be ready for her."

"I'd rather we were on our home turf, but...fine, we'll go." She let out a heavy sigh and leaned into him, basking in the warmth of his arms around her. "I just want us to be a normal family for a little while."

"We will be. That's the reason we're going." He kissed the top of her head.

"You know I'm not fond of camping," she pointed out to him as she looked up into his eyes. "And the idea of camping with alligators...well, which is worse? Them or Marlo?"

"Alligators? Fi, there aren't any alligators at this state park. At least not near the camping areas."

"Oh, that makes me feel a lot better!"

She pushed out of his grip, but with lightning quick speed he grabbed her and pulled her back against himself. "We'll be fine, Fi. Trust me."

"I do. Completely."

"I love you." He whispered huskily before he kissed her lips. His hands curved around her face as he dove deeper into her softness. She was unable to resist, and as her arms went around him, he picked her up and took her to their bed.

Since they wound up distracted, Michael had to rise extra early to locate all his old camping gear and get it in the car. He took an inventory of what he didn't have, and if they couldn't share with Sam's family, they would need to make a stop at an outfitters on the way.

"You almost forgot this," Fiona said as she came down the stairs with Lucas on her hip and the handle of the portable crib in her free hand.

"Sorry, Fi." He tossed it into the Charger's trunk and slammed it with a solid thunk. "I think we're ready. Is Luke fed?"

"He is, and we better shake a leg because we're already five minutes late," she said with a smile.

"You seem to be in a better frame of mind about this trip."

"Well, after last night..." She grinned and bounced Lucas on her hip. "I realized how much you needed this get away, so I decided I would do my best to enjoy it."

"Thank you, Fi. I'll call Sam and let him know we're on our way." He dialed the number, and Yvette picked up the landline. "Hi, Yvette, it's Michael. I just wanted to let you know we might be a little bit late."

"No problem, Michael. It's not like we were really going to get out the door and on the road by six anyway. When you have two kids who were too excited to sleep last night now dragging their butts all over the place, it happens." She paused. "At least we know they'll go to sleep in the car and we can get some miles under our tires before we have to stop for lunch."

"That'll be great. We'll see you in a little while."

They arrived at Sam and Yvette's, and Sam was putting the cooler into the back of Yvette's new car, a crossover. It was bigger than the old car that was totaled by another psycho woman from their past, with plenty of space for two growing children in the back seat and their gear. Its pearlescent cream color glowed in the early morning sun as Sam lowered the hatchback and turned to the sound of car doors.

"Hey Mike, Fi. We're just about ready to go. Eve is checking to make sure we've got everything turned off and we just have to get the kids in the car, and we're off! And look at that, we're not really even late."

Michael glanced at his watch. It was 0545. "Well, I did say we'd be here before six, so I suppose we're on time."

"Yeah, well, I was hoping we'd be on the road by 0530, but wishing and reality are sometimes two different things. Especially when we couldn't get the kids to go to bed last night! They were practically bouncing off the walls until midnight!"

"Daddy!" Samuel came running from the back yard and ran into Sam, giving his legs a hug.

"And this one is still going. I don't know how he does it."

Samuel looked up at his father with his big brown eyes and asked, "Camping?"

"Yeah, we're going camping, kiddo. Just as soon as you and your sister get into the car." Samuel ran off again as Sam heard the screen close and Yvette's footsteps as she trotted down the concrete back steps. "Everything in order?"

"Oh yes, we're ready." She smiled and tugged on her t-shirt, then spoke louder so the kids could hear. "As long as nobody needs to go potty before we leave!"

Two kids giggled as they ran up to the small group. "We don't have to go, Mom. Let's leave now!"

Yvette smiled down at them. "No, I want you two to both go."

"Mom." Esperanza whined.

"Just try. I don't want to hear you complaining before we hit Ft. Lauderdale that you have to go. I mean it!" She pointed toward the house. Esperanza gave her a sneer, grabbed Samuel's hand, and pulled him over to the house. "I saw that, Missy!" When the back door slammed shut, she sighed deeply and put her hands on her hips. "Kids!"

"They're still probably going to want to stop," Michael declared with a small smile.

"I'm hedging my bets that they'll be asleep and won't need to go."

As soon as the kids came out of the house, Yvette locked it and they climbed into the car. Fiona and Michael got into the Charger and led their caravan to the freeway. Just as Yvette had hoped, by the time Miami's skyline was in their rearview mirror, both kids were out, their heads swaying slightly with each lane change Sam made to get around the slower traffic.

"Honey, you don't have to go a hundred miles an hour," Yvette admonished softly.

"Just keeping up with Mike, that's all. Besides, I don't think this thing can do that."

"I hope we never have to find out." She fell silent and observed the scenery flashing by as they continued heading north. They didn't talk much, just held hands on the console and kept each other company.

To Yvette's relief, Michael kept their speed at a constant seventy. With the kids sound asleep, they were able to make good time and arrived without any breaks, much earlier than Sam's estimate. Esperanza woke first and rubbed her eyes as she looked around. The car wasn't moving fast anymore, which puzzled her.

"Mom, where are we?"

"We're at the park, waiting to get in."

"Are all these people staying here?"

"No," Yvette replied with a smile. "Lots of people come for just the day. We'll be here several days."

Finally, Michael was talking to the ranger. He paid for a sticker and handed it to Fi, and he drove ahead to let Sam check in for the campsite. As soon as everything was taken care of, Sam pulled alongside Michael's car. He leaned across the space between him and Yvette, and said, "I've got the map to our site. I'll lead, okay?"

"Sounds good!"

"Great!" As Sam moved back to his seat, he gave Yvette a sensuous smile and kissed her quickly before getting back to business. "Here's the map and stuff." She took it from him. He looked at her one more time before driving into the wooded campgrounds. "Have I ever told you how much I like that color on you?"

Yes, he had, on an almost daily basis. With a teasing smile, she asked, "What color? Oh, the hair." After her short stint as Kathleen Waverley with rich auburn hair, Yvette wanted to go back to her natural dark blonde, but she kept it for Sam. "You really do like it, don't you?."

"I love you the way your are, Eve, but there's something about that hair..." He winked. What he had to say could wait until the kids weren't around.

That thought sent a tingle down to her toes. Amazing that he could still do that to her after all this time! It was no mystery to her why Sam had been such a ladies' man before they married, because he not only knew how to say the right things, he made her feel like she was worth so much to him, and that meant more than anything he could ever buy her to try to make her happy. When she worked for Romana she lived on a yacht and saw places all over the world. Being married to Sam with two kids, they didn't get to see much outside of Miami or have access to the kinds of luxuries she had before, but she wouldn't trade her life now for oppression in a gilded cage.

Sam pulled into a space in front of a wood rail, and Michael parked next to him. They got out of their vehicles and looked around at the site. "Think we should leave Samuel and Luke in the cars while we set up? It's in the shade," Michael said as he assessed the situation.

"We'll open the windows and let some fresh air get in. They'll be fine." Sam returned to the vehicle and lowered the windows. "Espie, you can come out and help unload."

"Aw, Dad, I wanna go see the ocean!"

"You can see the ocean later. It looks just like it does in Miami. Really. Right now, let's get the camp set up."

"I'm hungry."

"We'll eat in a little while, once we get camp assembled. So if you help, we'll get done that much faster and then Mom will make some sandwiches or something. Okay?"

"Okay," Esperanza grumbled and dragged her feet to the back of the car. She waited for Sam to hand her something she could carry.

He gave her a sleeping bag and two pillows. "Put that stuff on the picnic table okay? Not on the ground."

In very little time, they had both cars unpacked and the tents up with about six feet of space between them. Yvette started a small fire in the pit with some of the wood they brought along. It wasn't nearly enough to last the next few days, but it would get them started.

Fiona got Lucas out of his car seat, and Samuel undid his own and got out of the car with her help. He looked around, amazed at the change in surroundings. He wasn't used to so many trees and bushes in one place.

"Camping?"

Fiona grinned and replied, "Yes, Samuel, we're camping." She led him over to the fire, and the child climbed into one of the chairs Yvette set around it. "What did you have in mind for lunch?"

Yvette grinned. "Grilled cheese sandwiches."

Fiona's eyebrows went up. "Seriously? How do you plan on doing that?"

"With one of these little gizmos," she replied and held up a square shaped iron with two halves and long handles. "Watch and learn, Fiona."

"Oh great, Mom's makin' grilled cheese!" Esperanza exclaimed and skipped over to Sam and Michael as they finished tying down the tents. "Dad, we're having the iron sandwiches again!"

"Iron sandwiches?" Michael looked at Sam. "Sounds...yummy."

"They're made in that thing," Sam explained as he pointed to the iron that Fiona held in front of her while Samuel danced around, reaching up to try to take it.

"Samuel, no. Aunt Fiona will cook it for you once I get this one done and show her how. Be patient."

Yvette quickly assembled a cheese sandwich, laid it in the square iron, and closed it tightly. With a dull knife she cut off the crusts and took it over to the fire.

"Mom, can I do mine?"

"Okay, Espie, just be careful. It doesn't have to be in there long."

Esperanza held the iron over the glowing coals, and Fiona sat in a chair next to her and did the same. Luke sat on her thigh watching them.

"Hey, that's pretty clever," Michael remarked.

"We found them at the outfitters when we were buying camping equipment. The salesman assured us we didn't dare go camping without them." He paused. "We were skeptical, but we got a couple and tried them out at home. The kids love 'em." He grinned at the excitement on Esperanza's face as she watched Yvette take the sandwich from the iron. "We've even made pies in them, and the week after we bought these, Eve went back for a waffle maker, so we can have waffles for breakfast."

He shook his head. "It's amazing what'll get a kid's attention." He tried to remember what fascinated him at that age, but there were too many bad memories to weed through in order to remember. He was glad for the opportunity to make new, good memories with his own child. "So, what are we doing after lunch?"

"There's this little thing I like to do when I'm not working." Sam looked at him and grinned. "It's called relaxing." He laughed, and Michael swatted at a bug. "No plans, no worries. We'll probably go to the beach and let the kids play in the water. After that, who knows? In the meantime, come on, let me buy you a beer."

Sam and Michael parked themselves in the chairs with the cooler between them. Sam cracked open two beers and set them on the surface, while Michael leaned back and stretched out his legs. He closed his eyes and let his head fall over the seat back. A few rays of sunshine poked through the leafy canopy above and landed on his face, but he didn't mind. It was soothing. Until he let the warmth seep into his pores, he didn't realize how badly he needed this. If he wasn't careful, he would completely forget the threat of Marlo hovering in the background during every second of the day.

As he settled in, Sam watched him unwind and smiled. He had one more thing to do, and when he got up to do it, Michael heard him and opened his eyes. Sam held out a hand, and said, "No, Mike, you just sit there. You're doing such a good job of relaxing, don't let me stop you!"

Michael nodded as a small smile touched his lips, and he returned to his pose. Meanwhile, Sam went to the vehicle, came back with a bundle and a tool box. In a matter of minutes, he was done. "There you go, Mike, if you really wanna relax. Check it out."

He hadn't expected to doze off, but he realized he'd done just that when Sam spoke and awoke him. "Huh? What..." He looked at where Sam pointed. In between two sturdy trees he stretched a hammock. From the looks of it, he'd had it a long time, but it looked really inviting.

"Go for it, Mike. It'll bring back memories. Good ones, I hope."

"Oh yeah, it brings back memories alright." Some good, some bad. The good ones involved a time of rest when they were on a mission in Central America, and a dark haired beauty named Lola...He inwardly kicked himself, as he had no business thinking about that when he had a reddish brown haired beauty who loved him like crazy and blessed him with a son. He imagined that later on, after Lucas went down for the night, they would find themselves out in the hammock trying to peer up through the leaves at the stars. That thought alone sent a long, deep sigh out of him and he settled into it by himself for the time being.

"Michael, do you want a sandwich," Fiona asked.

"Hmmm, yeah, sure." He took the sandwich and the beer she handed him. He forgot he'd left it on the cooler. This leisure stuff was something he could get into if they stayed long enough. After finishing both the beer and the sandwich, he accepted a s'more from Esperanza's sticky fingers. Her face lit up as he took it, and she skipped off to make one for herself. It was good. It brought back some of the nicer memories from his childhood, when he, Nate and their mom would sit near the fire pit in the back yard roasting marshmallows and making the sugar-shock inducing treats while his dad played cards with his buddies. He could still hear them yelling and getting wild inside the house.

Someone took his hand and rubbed something cool on it. Michael opened his eyes and found Fiona leaning over him, a wet wipe in her hand, cleaning off the remnants as if he were one of the kids. He laughed, and she smiled at him tenderly.

"Sorry, can't help myself. I guess I'm really a mom now, huh?"

"Nothing wrong with that, Fi. Being a mom has been good for you. I just hope that being a dad can be just as good for me."

"Of course, Michael." She reached for him at the same time he reached for her, dragging her down over his body and rolling her with a screech to settle in next to him on the hammock. They quickly worked to keep from spilling out, and he drew her close against him with an arm. The hammock swung slowly, rocking them both to a point of deep relaxation.

Sam and Yvette looked at each other, smiled, and nodded. Operation Unwind was in full gear now. Esperanza walked past him and he stopped her, then spoke softly in her ear. "Espie, please help your mom clean up lunch, and then you, Sammy, Luke and your Mom and I will go to the beach. We'll leave Aunt Fiona and Uncle Michael alone for awhile."

She glanced at them in the hammock, smiled, and nodded, making light work of putting everything back into the cooler and getting rid of the trash. Sam wrote a quick note on a napkin and left it on the picnic table as he and his family took Lucas with them to the beach.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

After a day spent at the beach and the playground, Lucas was safely tucked away in the portable crib in Michael and Fi's tent, but Samuel and Esperanza fought to stay awake while the adults talked around the campfire.

"Hey Sam, I've got a question," Fiona said as she roasted a marshmallow over the flames.

"Yeah, Fi."

"Tomorrow's Thanksgiving. Have you figured out how we're going to make a turkey out here?"

Yvette laughed. "Oh, we've got that covered, Fiona. I pre-cooked it at home and brought it along. It's going to be a bit unconventional, but I'm making something with it in a cast iron dutch oven." She loaded two marshmallows on a stick and handed it to Samuel. "I've been doing some research on how to cook over a wood fire like this, and I found the perfect recipe for turkey. It's kind of like chicken and dumplings, only with turkey, and cornbread on the top."

Fiona raised an eyebrow. "Ever since I came here from Ireland, I've been wanting to try an American Thanksgiving meal, but either I'm too busy, or it's nothing like we hear about back home."

Yvette smiled at her. "Next year we'll try to do a traditional menu."

"As long as we don't have to dress up as Pilgrims or something," Sam said, and Yvette poked him in the ribs.

"Somehow I can't imagine Fi in one of those dresses," Michael muttered as he looked at her and shook his head.

"And you in one of those goofy hats!" Fiona looked at him, her eyes dancing with playfulness in the firelight. When she looked like that, he found it hard to resist her.

"Don't worry, Fi, that would never happen." He put his arm around her and kissed her lips. sheltering her from a sudden chill in the air.

The wind picked up a little and blew through the site, sending sparks off the fire and into the sky. Thunder rumbled in the distance.

"Uhoh," Sam said as he glanced up at the dark sky.

"Okay, who didn't check the weather for this weekend," Michael asked.

"I don't know about you, but I'd rather be out here on his campground in the rain, versus being a sitting duck in Miami for..."

"Sam, shhhh." Yvette jostled him and looked down at the Samuel and Esperanza. They were staring at him with curiosity.

"It's okay, kids. You should be in bed anyway. You didn't sleep much last night, and it's getting late."

"But Dad, I'm not tired," Esperanza protested.

"Me too," Samuel agreed, and then yawned.

"Sorry. Your father is right. Off to bed with you!" Yvette stood and picked up a lantern, turned it on, and led the kids to the tent. "Come on, get your goodnight kisses." They went around to Sam, Fiona, and even Michael to get their fill of goodnight hugs and kisses before dragging their feet to the tent. Yvette ushered them inside, zipped it shut, and the light played their shadows on the wall as they changed into pajamas and slipped into their sleeping bags.

"We should probably put this out before that storm comes in," Michael suggested as he poked at the embers. "The rain will probably take care of it, but better safe than sorry."

Fiona turned and looked over at the tents. "Speaking of rain, if we get hit hard, are we going to be okay in those?"

Michael replied, "We put them on higher ground, but if it does rain hard enough to cause problems, we'll have to evacuate and get into the cars. I don't think that's going to happen." He pulled out his phone and tapped a few places. The glow from the screen lit up his face. "The radar looks like it's not much, and it should pass over soon."

By the time the rains came, everyone was settled into the tents, the fire was out, and the kids were already asleep. With nothing better to do in the dark, and not really feeling that tired, Sam and Yvette zipped their sleeping bags together to make one larger sack and crawled inside. It was close, not that they minded. They had just enough room to wrap themselves around each other, and as they kissed Sam's hands roved over her body. But there was only so much he could do with the kids there, even if they were sleeping. As the thunder died and the rain stopped, their hearts pounded and their breaths came short and shallow, and it became impossible to do much more in such a confined space.

"I've got an idea," he whispered. "Come with me." Sam unzipped the sleeping bag and helped her out. They left the tent, and it was completely dark outside. Yvette took a lantern. Sam approached Michael and Fi's tent. Softly, he asked, "Hey Mike, Fi. You guys still awake?"

"Yes, Sam. Please go away," Michael replied. Fiona giggled.

"Eve and I are going to take a quick trip over to the beach. We'll be back in a little bit. Can you keep an ear peeled if the kids wake up or something?"

"Sure. Be careful out there."

They heard the sound of kisses before Fiona added, "Watch out for alligators."

"Fi," Michael said, and she giggled again. "Just go, Sam. And hurry back."

"Will do." He grabbed Yvette's hand, and together they quickly covered the short distance between their campsite and the beach. They were lucky to be so close, just on the other side of some scrub brush and trees. They took a narrow path that came out in the midst of a cluster of tall grass, and he pointed out to sea. "Ah, look at that. This was one of the reasons I wanted to come out here. Check it out."

They sat on the wet sand and watched the clouds as they moved over the ocean. Now and then a flash of lightning lit up the sky from cloud to cloud, and they were fortunate enough to witness a shaft slicing down between a cloud and the ocean. The sight of it gave Yvette goosebumps.

"Are we safe here?"

"As safe as in our tent." He put his arm around her and held her close.

She got up and quickly reseated herself between his legs, leaning up against him, where he could wrap himself completely around her. He rested his chin on her shoulder and pressed her tightly to himself. It wasn't long and they took up where they'd left off in the tent. The light show over the ocean was forgotten, and the fireworks on the beach took center stage. Sam reached over and turned off the lantern, leaving them in darkness as he lay back and they made love on the sand, interrupted by no one at that late hour. And if anyone had been about, they were sheltered enough by the tall grass to be invisible to the casual beach walker. It was like old times during their honeymoon on the private island.

The storm was completely gone when they returned to the tents. From the lack of sound coming from Michael and Fi's, they assumed everyone inside must be asleep. Sam and Yvette slipped into theirs and heard the kids breathing softly. After wishing each other a good night with kisses, the couple slipped into their sleeping bag and went to sleep curled up together.

The next morning dawned with sunshine and cooler air, but they enjoyed the day and ate Yvette's turkey concoction for lunch. Everyone enjoyed it, even if it was unconventional. In the afternoon they lounged around the campsite and the beach. Michael spent the time with Fiona enjoying the peacefulness, but he couldn't help but feel restless deep inside. Two days of idleness was something completely foreign to him. For years, decades even, he was constantly on the move from one mission to another. About the only time he had any rest was when he found himself laid up with an injury. That was no way to live. Some day, the stress was bound to kill him, if a bullet didn't do the job.

That's why he spent so much time maintaining his fitness and keeping his skills sharp. It was an insurance policy. Cheating death time and again would catch up to him one day. It was inevitable in his line of work, but as long as he did everything he could to make sure that didn't happen, he lived to survive another day.

_But I don't want to just survive. I want to live! _With a wife and child, now he felt as if he'd finally obtained the things necessary to do that. Trouble was, he didn't know how, and as time passed slowly, he began to see that this weekend was a chance to develop the important skill of letting his hair down and living like just an everyday person. So he worked to embrace the idle time rather than curse it.

He thought he was doing a pretty good job of achieving that as he lay stomach down on the towel, soaking up the sun. "Mike, I think you're burning," Sam said as he trudged up the beach with Esperanza clinging to his back. His shadow hung over Michael and he dripped water on him. "Come on, why don't you join us in the water?"

"Yeah, I suppose."

"He's right, Michael, you are getting burned," Fiona agreed as she lifted her head from her magazine and studied his back. "You of all people should know that getting burned is no fun."

"Haha, Fi. I'm getting up, I got it."

Sam stepped back and let his friend get to his feet. "Let's race to the ocean, Daddy!"

A mischievous smile crossed Michael's face. "Okay."

"We get a head start," Sam said, but it was already too late.

"Daddy, he started! We're gonna lose!"

Sam slipped his daughter off his back and took her hand. "Come on, let's go!" Together they ran toward the surf. Michael was already there and dove head first into a big wave. He came up thoroughly doused, pushing the hair back from his forehead. Sam and Esperanza joined him, and the three swam deeper into the ocean. Espie lay on her back and rode the gentle waves toward shore until they broke just shy of the sand. She did this over and over again while the two just treaded water and watched.

"Mike, I got a call from Paxson. I called her and left a message last night, and she got back to me early this morning."

A shiver of dread ran up Michael's spine, but he held it back with one of his sarcastic smiles. "I take it you didn't call to wish her a happy Thanksgiving."

"No. I wanted to know what she knew regarding Marlo." He paused to see where Esperanza was before continuing. She was young, but smart enough to know that something was wrong, and she'd already figured out that they weren't here just for fun. "Paxson said they had some leads on her, checking with friends, associates. Some of them had seen her. One guy even let her borrow his car, but she never returned it. So now she has wheels, which makes her even more of a threat."

"I would assume the cops are on the lookout for the car."

"Of course. But if she leaves town and follows us, it'll be harder to keep up with her."

"She couldn't know where we are. Outside of you and me, Jack and our families, nobody knows."

"Jack. Oh crap, Mike, what if he's in danger? He rented a sea plane to get him and Sasha to Key West! What if she tracks him down?"

"I'm confident Jack can take care of himself."

"Yeah, but if they rented a sailboat like he wanted to, who knows where they could be. If she got on his boat...Oh man, I don't even want to think about that!" Sam turned and headed for shore.

"Sam, where are you going? Sam!" With a growl of frustration, Michael followed him.

His friend was already out of the water, walking with purposeful strides to the beach towels. Yvette looked up at him with incomprehension as he wiped off his hands and grabbed his phone from inside the beach bag. Then he stepped away to make his call.

Michael followed him down the beach until they were far enough away from their families, and Sam put it on speaker.

"I've got someone contacting the sheriff in Key West, Sam. As soon as I find out anything, I'll let you know."

"Thanks."

"Chances are he's just hanging out on that boat in the shallows near shore, enjoying his vacation. Like you should be. And Westen."

"We're working on that, Detective," Michael replied.

"Good. Be careful, but don't be looking over your shoulder all the time. Relax, and I'll call you with updates. And when you return, on Monday I think we better have a meeting and talk about where we can maybe find Marlo and get the jump on her rather than the other way around."

"We tried that the first time, and look how well that turned out," Michael said sarcastically.

"Westen, it was a mistake. One that the we're trying to rectify, and when we do, I can assure you that she won't be able to get out of the facility a second time. She'll probably go straight to a high security jail until the trial starts."

"After that, they'll find her guilty on an insanity plea and send her to a place like the one she ran from," Sam finished for her. His shoulders sagged. "I hate to say this, but maybe the only way to stop her is...to stop her...permanently."

"If, and this is a big if, she finds you guys and tries anything, you have permission to do whatever is necessary. Even if it means shooting her to death."

"Like we needed any permission for that," Michael smirked.

"I'm just saying, Westen. You have every right to use force to stop her."

"Well, let's hope she doesn't find us. I'm worried more about Jack right now," Sam said as he kept an eye all around them. "Keep trying to contact him. I tried calling, but he may be out to sea and too far from cell service. I don't know."

"I will, guys. Just go enjoy the rest of your weekend and think about us poor cops who have to work overtime to find one crazy chick who has an obsession for you."

"You got it." Sam broke the connection and sighed. "Okay, you heard the lady. Let's go try to get this off our backs and just enjoy the day."

"Yeah." They walked back to the women, and Michael knew that he and Sam were too much alike sometimes, although Sam had a way of hiding his anxiety so no one knew it lurked underneath. He needed to work on that, because Fiona could always read him like a book, and today, it was ruining their holiday. As he and Sam ran back to the water, he wondered how normal people spent this day, because so far it was nothing like he would have expected.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

As another day passed with nothing more eventful than Samuel cutting his hand on a piece of playground equipment, an injury that Sam was able to easily fix, Michael walked a tightrope between total relaxation and paranoia. He wasn't used to this. As he observed other families camping in the park, he realized that this was what life was like when you weren't a spy. He and Fiona took a stroll around the campground alone without Lucas. Yvette offered to babysit him while they spent some time together. Fiona looked radiant in the lowering sun, the wide smile on her face a telling sign. She relished every second they were together, and they both missed the times alone.

Fiona sighed, and Michael glanced at her with questions in his eyes. She looked up at him and said, "Michael, I love Lucas dearly, but there are some times when I've thought that we'd never have moments like this again."

"We've never really had anything like this before, Fi."

"I know, not exactly like this specifically. Just the two of us. And it's been positively idyllic!" She drew him closer to her side and held onto his arm with both hands, caressing the bare skin, kissing his shoulder. "Oh, you're skin is warm. You did get a sunburn!"

"It's okay, Fi. It's not so bad." He disengaged his arm and put it around her instead. They strolled to the beach and watched the sky over the water slowly turn dark and a nearly full moon rose higher over the horizon. Neither of them said a word as the sight mesmerized them. He sat them down on a dune and he leaned back on his elbows. She lay beside him and rested her head on his chest as she touched his stomach lightly, sending little tongues of fire through him.

"I'm actually glad that we ran away from Miami." She lifted her head and looked at him. "I thought at first that it was cowardly. I still think so, at least a little. But we've gained so much in the past two days that we never would have had if we'd stayed in the city." Her eyes flashed with contentment. "I believe you're starting to see the benefits of quiet time."

"And I've only just begun," Michael answered with a sly smile that she could barely see in the dim light of dusk. Slowly, he pulled her up his body, allowing her to feel what she did to him.

Her leg came to rest between his, and her touch was feather light as she worked a hand up his body to his face. They kissed deeply, forgetting where they were, concentrating on just each other. By the time they were plunged into darkness, they hid among the dunes and acted upon their desires until they were exhausted. Then they put themselves back together and headed back to camp. Sam and Yvette were still up, and Sam wore a grin that told Michael he knew what they'd been up to.

"Gotta love those dunes, eh Mikey? Perfect for a little, ahem, privacy."

If it had been daylight, Michael's flaming cheeks would have been visible for all to see. He thanked God for the night. "We're heading off to bed. You know, sitting around doing nothing can be draining."

"Yeah, but it sure feels good, doesn't it?" Sam winked at him.

Michael nodded. "Night all." He and Fiona retreated to their tent and as he lay awake with her in his arms, he listened to Sam and Yvette talking softly by the fire. Eventually, they put it out and went to their own lodging. After some rustling and a little giggling, things settled down over there and it was completely dark.

The campsite was everything that Sam said it would be. Sometimes it seemed as if they were the only ones out there, because the ground cover and trees were dense enough to make it difficult to keep an eye on other campers. Only the raccoons were pesky neighbors. The night before, they stole a bag of marshmallows that someone left on the table. One stuffed his face and tore off into the woods, while the other grabbed the bag in his teeth and took off. Other than the wildlife, he wasn't even sure until he and Fiona took their walk, that anyone was in the camp next to them. Now and then during the day he could hear kids screeching and playing at the playground nearby, but the campsites themselves were quite sedate. Some day, he and Fi would have to revisit this place with their kids...with Lucas.

_What made me think plural? I'm still getting used to having one! And with all this stuff with Marlo, it's dangerous enough for our son. Would we really want to subject another child to this? Maybe it is time to slow down, to try to live a normal life. But being a spy, helping people, that's what I do. It's who I am. What would I be without it? _

With those thoughts, Michael fell asleep until Fiona woke him up in the middle of the night bathing him with passionate kisses. He smiled in the dark. Getting awakened abruptly was never one of his favorite things, but when it was his woman waking him up like only she could, he didn't mind at all.

Saturday morning, Michael felt refreshed despite the nocturnal activity. He gave Fiona a secret smile as she helped Yvette get the kids fed, and she replied with a smoldering expression that promised there was more waiting for later.

"You two must have had a good night," Sam spoke near Michael's ear and playfully elbowed him in the ribs.

Michael turned and studied his friend. When it came to such things, Sam didn't miss much. "We had a really nice night. Thanks again for taking care of Luke."

"No problem. He's a great kid, Mike. Never fusses about going to sleep. You better enjoy it now, though, because once they get a mind of their own..."

"I know. I see how Samuel protests, although I think Espie is worse."

"Yeah. It's like they think they don't have enough time to be a kid, so they want to stay up late. Little do they know how fast they grow up." He took a sip of coffee. "Eve and I were thinking that today we'd go to St. Augustine. The women can shop and we can take Sammy and Luke over to the fort. They'll love it."

"Sounds like a good idea. I don't know if I could take another day of lounging around on the beach." He lightly touched his back.

"A little sore today?"

"Yeah."

"We've got a big bottle of aloe around here somewhere, you're welcome to it."

"Thanks, but I think Fi brought along some."

Sam chuckled and turned a devious smile on his friend. "How about after breakfast Eve and I'll take the kids to play for a little bit, and you and Fi can...treat...that back of yours."

"Sam..."

"Nothing like a taste of the great outdoors to rev up the engines, huh?"

Michael laughed, and shook his head. He hadn't seen this side of Sam in awhile. Back when he was single, innuendos flew out of his mouth on a daily basis. Since he got married, and especially after the kids came, he toned it down and cleaned up his act. But Michael always knew it was lurking under his hide somewhere, and now it was back.

"Thanks, Sam."

"Hey, you need something to loosen you up. You're still way too tense."

Michael was supposed to be taking it easy, and up until that point, he'd found himself falling into a sense of complacency, or at least what would pass for such in his book. But to most people, he was still like a wound spring. The isolation at the camp created a sense that it would be easy to detect trouble, but today when they were in the midst of crowds, he knew danger could come out from the middle of them when you least expected it. So he scanned the people wandering around the fort, looking for threats...and wishing that for once in his life he could look at them with a different perspective other than one of suspicion.

"Hey Mikey, you okay?"

Sam always knew when his guard was up. He could be sitting on a bench, like he was at the moment, a calm look on his face, but his best friend sensed that his radar was up and searching. "Sorry, Sam. I guess old habits die hard."

"Understood. I've been keeping an eye out too, but I guess I'm a little more relaxed about it," Sam said as he sat beside him. He rested his arms over the back and crossed his legs, slowly scanning the people who walked past. "See, now this is how you do it. Didn't I ever teach you anything?" Michael laughed, the reaction that Sam hoped to get. "There, now just relax. We've got one more day up here and then we'll head back. Maybe the cops will have found Marlo by then. Hey, if it'll make you feel better, I can call Paxson again and find out if she has anything new."

"You don't have to do that, Sam. I'll get over it."

"Good. Now, let's go collect the boys, find the girls, and get back to camp before it gets dark."

On the drive to the park, a brief shower dropped heavy rains, which wasn't unexpected. When they returned to find their campsite in complete disarray, tents flattened, contents scattered around the site, and their cooler dumped on the ground and everything inside ruined, they were shocked. It didn't look like a natural disaster had done this.

"What the..."

"Do you think Marlo found us," Yvette asked.

"Well, I don't think raccoons did this," Michael replied.

Sam pulled out a brochure from the car and dialed a number on it. "Yeah, my name is Sam Axe. I'm camping out here with some friends and family, and we just got back and found our site torn apart. Uh, huh, either someone was looking for something to take, or they just decided to trash it. Don't know." He listened for a few moments. "Okay, thanks." He ended the call and announced, "We need to just stay back and wait until the park ranger gets here. They want to treat this like a crime scene."

"Why don't we take the kids to the beach, Fi?" Yvette suggested it so calmly, Sam could have kissed her.

"But Mom, I need my suit to go to the beach."

"No, this one time you can get your clothes a little wet, honey. Come on."

The women took the kids, and Sam and Michael waited for the ranger. In the meantime, they studied the pattern of damage. It was completely random. "Mike, if Marlo did this, we just let Eve and Fi become targets out on that beach."

"I don't think it was her, Sam. She would be in hiding somewhere right now, watching our every move. She would..." He was interrupted by gunfire.

Sam glanced at him. "You were saying, Mike?" Without another word, Sam turned and opened Yvette's car, got the gun out of the glove compartment and pulled a clip from where he kept it hidden.

Michael retrieved his own gun from the Charger and together they ran to the beach. They came off the boardwalk and looked around for the source of the shots. There wasn't anything out of the ordinary. Fiona and Yvette stood near the surf watching Samuel and Esperanza play in the water. Fiona held Lucas tightly to her hip. They saw their men standing on the sand and waved to them, and they waved back before retreating to the campsite.

"Okay, I wasn't the only one who heard those shots. Was I?"

"I heard them too, Sam. They were nearby."

"So where's the shooter?"

As they approached their campsite, a park ranger pulled up followed by a sheriff's deputy. Quickly, they stashed their weapons on themselves and continued on to the site. The deputy parked behind their vehicles, got out of his cruiser, and asked, "You two call this in?"

"Yes Sir, we did," Sam replied.

"Did you touch anything?"

"No. We knew better than to even set foot on the site," Michael replied as he surveyed another deputy who had gotten out of the car and entered the mess looking for clues.

"We'll have to spend some time going over this. Anything you can tell us, like maybe you had a confrontation with another camper that might have led to this?"

"No. We've pretty much kept to ourselves, Deputy. And the people we've met seemed to be pretty nice." Sam and Michael glanced at each other, silently deciding to tell them about what they heard. Michael continued, "Just before you arrived, we heard gunshots."

"Gunshots?"

"Yeah. And believe us, we know what gunshots sound like," Sam said with a nervous chuckle.

Michael added with a nod, "It sounded like a semi-automatic rifle."

The ranger and deputy briefly glanced at each other, their expressions conveying their skepticism. The deputy returned his attention to them and asked, "Any idea where they came from?"

They shook their heads. Sam replied, "With all these trees, it kind of echoed around. We though it came from the beach, and we were checking it out. Then you guys showed up."

The deputy wrote everything down and said, "We'll look into it, but I don't think we have much hope of finding a suspect. Unless they do it again to someone else's site. Sorry."

"Yeah, well, that's the way it goes," Sam said nonchalantly, although inside he felt anger rising. All they could do at this point was put everything back together and try to enjoy what remained of their vacation.

"You folks take care. Sorry about this interruption of your weekend. Most campers are pretty decent, they leave other peoples' stuff alone. Unfortunately, sometimes we get young adults out here who think it's fun to trash other sites." The deputies and the ranger soon left, leaving the two men to assess the damage.

"It doesn't look good, Sam."

"Nope. Let's just figure out what's salvageable and go from there."

Some time had passed, and neither Sam nor Michael came back to the beach to get them, so the women collected their wet children and headed back to the campsite. Fiona and Yvette looked over the vehicles, noting that the crossover's back end was packed with their things. Glancing at each other, they hurried into the cleared area. The trash barrel was stuffed with destroyed items and the overflow lay on the ground.

"Michael...Sam...what is going on," Fiona asked, her eyes wide as she looked around.

"We're going home," Michael replied. "Half our stuff was ruined by whoever did this."

Yvette's eyes narrowed as she ground out, "Marlo, that..."

"We don't have any evidence that she's responsible," Michael replied calmly, although his face showed how hard it was to keep his anger under control. He was having fun for once in a long time; and if it was Marlo who ruined their holiday, he wasn't sure he could restrain himself if he ever came face to face with her.

Sam took one last look around the campsite to be sure they didn't forget anything. Except for their damaged gear, nothing was left. "Okay, kids, we're going home. Go get in the car."

"Awwww man! Why can't we just set everything up again," Esperanza asked as she forced Yvette to push her toward the car.

"It wouldn't work, sweetie. Too much of our stuff got ruined," Sam replied. He knew it was always best to be honest with her, because she had a talent for sniffing out a lie. Along with all the other skills they taught her, some day she would be a good intelligence officer if she chose that path.

"This sucks," she said and climbed into the vehicle, put on her seatbelt, and crossed her arms as she pouted. She was also stubborn, and Esperanza wore that sour expression until they were fifty miles away from the campsite and heading south. A trip through the Dairy Queen drive-thru helped to wipe the expression off her face and replaced it with a vanilla ice cream smile. Michael and Fiona waited in the parking lot until they were ready to hit the road again, and led the caravan to the freeway.

The sun was going down and they would be driving most of the way in the dark. That bothered Sam. There were plenty of cities and off ramps between the state park and Miami, but there were also long stretches that could be sparsely populated with cars at night. He spoke softly to Yvette. "Keep an eye out for anything unusual, cars speeding up on us, or any cars going north that suddenly turn around in the median."

"Will do, Sam." She gripped his hand tighter and turned her head to look out the window, checking the side mirror for suspicious vehicles.

"Call Mike." Sam said after putting on the ear piece and setting his phone into the storage pocket on the console. "Mike, see anything unusual out there?"

"Nope. We're watching, carefully. As much as I want to kick it up a bit and get us home sooner, we're better off going the speed limit. Don't want to attract unwanted attention."

"I understand that, brother. Let me know if you see anything."

"You too."

_ The trouble with constant vigil is that it gets hard to do after awhile. You get complacent; no matter how hard you try not to, it happens. And at night it's even more likely, as well as falling asleep on the job._

Only a couple hours left and they would be in Miami. Sam glanced over at Yvette and noted in the moonlight streaming through her window that she was sleeping. The kids were out as well. He would have loved to join them, but cruise control wouldn't take over the driving. He blinked and stared ahead, realizing that the Charger's tail lights were farther away than they should have been. He put on some gas to catch up as he silently berated himself for being so careless.

A large pickup truck veered into the space between their cars, suddenly sped up, and hit Michael's back end, forcing the heavy vehicle into a spin that turned it around to face the wrong way. Sam was going too fast to stop without hitting the car, but he didn't have to worry. Another large pickup truck came from the median. In Michael's headlights he saw the flash of a push bar just before it impacted with a loud crunch, plowing into the driver's side door.

"Sam!" Yvette was instantly awake, screaming his name.

Sam was helpless to do anything except brace himself as the truck pushed them off the freeway. With all the rain, the gravel on the shoulder was soft and the wheels sank in briefly. Then the top-heavy vehicle tilted toward the embankment. It rolled twice. Screams filled the air along with flying gear. It didn't seem as if it would ever stop, but it landed on its roof at the bottom. Rainwater swept through the broken windows as it continued on its way southward in a temporary creek.

Sharp pain ran up Sam's side as he gasped for air. He heard the truck stop on the road. Someone got out and the tall grass swished as they descended into the gully. "Yeah, I took care of them, ma'am. You're not gonna have to worry about them. Yeah, and Westen and his family, well, they got away...barely...but don't worry. We'll take care of them in Miami."

Despite the temptation to cry out in pain, Sam kept quiet. He closed his eyes as a flashlight beam swept over their vehicle and the occupants inside.

"You better check to make sure they're dead, man."

"With that much blood, and they're down here where no one'll see 'em, don't worry, they're gone. And if not, they'll have time to die. Our client will be happy to hear that maybe they suffered a little before they went." The deep gravelly voice paused. "Come on, let's get out of here. We still have to catch up to Westen and his family. And if the others don't take care of that other guy, Jack, and his wife, we'll be on our way to the Keys yet tonight."

"Sometimes, I really hate this job."

"No rest for the wicked they say," the deep voice replied with a laugh.

"We must be pretty bad, then."

The slow even footsteps cut through the grass again, the voices faded away, and not long after, the truck engine started and the tires scratched on loose gravel as it left the scene. Sam took a breath after holding it for so long, and the pain was so intense, he lost consciousness.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

"Michael! They ran Sam off the road!" Fiona looked through the back window in vain. Other than the bright headlights of the truck bearing down on them, there was nothing to see. Not even Sam's taillights were visible on the side of the road.

"I saw that, Fi, and believe me, I'd like nothing better than to go back and help them. But right now we have our own problem on our tail, and I'm pretty sure they want us dead." He pressed the gas pedal to the floor. Although the Charger was a classic, he kept the engine well tuned and in peak performance at all times. It was lighter than the big truck, and in time they lost them with the speedometer peaking at just over 100.

"There's an exit just up ahead." Fiona pointed at a sign advertising a gas station. "Please, Michael, pull over. Turn around. We can't leave them behind!"

"We won't, Fi. I promise you, we'll go back." Michael got off on the exit and found a darkened diner not far from the road. He pulled the black car behind it, turned off the headlights and engine, and watched the exit ramp for their pursuers. "Fi, did you catch which mile marker we were near when Sam went off the road?"

"No, I didn't see the marker. I was too worried about us...Lucas..." Fiona took a few breaths to calm herself. She normally didn't get this shaken up. Bad guys rarely threw her off balance; but things were different now when there was someone else besides her and Michael. She glanced back and couldn't see Lucas in the dark, but in the stillness, she heard his even breathing. "He slept through it all. I can't believe it." She shook her head. "The reach this woman has...it's unreal. Michael, I'm afraid the only way to stop her is to kill her. Before she kills us, our family and our friends."

"Fi, that's not gonna happen. We'll make it out of this, every one." His breath caught in his throat, and he continued, "I just saw the truck. They went past the exit."

"We should wait a few minutes, just to make sure they don't double back."

"Yeah." He didn't want to wait, but he knew Fiona was right. If they started out prematurely, the guys in the truck might see them and come back.

He dialed his phone. "Detective Paxson, Michael Westen. I don't have time to chat. We were ambushed on southbound I-95. Sam's car was forced off the road into a ditch, and we managed to escape our pursuers. We're at the Limestone Creek exit and we're going to double back a couple of exits and head south to see if we can find Sam and his family."

"Be careful, Westen. I'll contact the sheriff's department and they'll be on the lookout for you." She paused. "Do you have a description of the truck that ran them off the road?"

"There's the other truck, Michael."

"Yeah, one of the two just passed over on the freeway. It's dark blue, a Chevy. One of them had a push bar on the front, and they both looked like good 'ol boy trucks. You know what I mean?" He started the car. "Sorry, gotta run. Just get us backup!"

"Will do."

Michael turned to his wife and partner. "I love you, Fi." He leaned over and kissed her. "If you hadn't..."

"I know."

In the moonlight he saw her smile. "Okay, now let's get out of here and see if we can find Sam!" He put the car in gear and sped toward the exit. As soon as he hit the freeway, he drove well over 100 again.

"Fi, does this look familiar, like maybe somewhere around here was where Sam got forced off the road," Michael asked as they neared the first exit.

"I don't think so, Michael. Let's go one more exit. My gut is telling me he's between this one and the next exit." As he sped down the deserted road, she glanced to the west in hopes of seeing wheels sticking up from a ditch.

"I hope you're right, Fi." Michael got off the freeway at the second exit, drove over the bridge, and barreled down the entrance ramp to the southbound lanes. This side of the road was also deserted, so he lowered his speed and drove along the shoulder. The wakeup strips hummed rhythmically under the tires, but he ignored them. Fiona stuck her body half out of the window in an hopes of seeing the vehicle.

"Careful, Fi. Don't hang out too far."

"I won't. I just want to make sure I can see past the grass alongside the shoulder."

In an effort to keep her inside the car, Michael reached over and threaded two fingers through a belt loop on her jeans. She knelt on her seat and her legs hugged up against the door. One hand stayed on the frame as she scoured the wilderness with her eyes.

The moon helped them see beyond the concrete. A ditch ran parallel to the road, and as they moved farther south, it deepened. Beyond it, thick vegetation could easily have obscured the Axe family's vehicle if it went that far. But Fiona remembered that it went down, not horizontally. She kept her eyes on the ditch and silently hoped that they would find them soon, and that everyone might come out unscathed. Thoughts of Sam's children being crushed by the heavy vehicle invaded her mind. It made her sick to her stomach. _No, I can't think that way! They'll be okay, they have to be! And Sam and Yvette, they're all going to be fine. Aren't they?_


	6. Chapter 6

****_Warning: This chapter contains children being injured. Not too graphic._

**Chapter 6**

In the dark Sam heard groaning and realized it was coming from himself. He felt light-headed and disoriented. His hands were cold, and the wetness ran up to just past his wrists. He could barely move his fingers. When he moved his arms to escape the wetness that ran over his hands, they were stiff, sore, and felt as if they weighed a ton each.

"Eve...Eve...are you okay?" There was no answer. It would have been easy to spiral into a panic, but he kept his cool. "Es-Espie...Samuel..."

Still no answer. Considering his options took too much brain power, so he decided to just undo his seatbelt and let the chips, or in this case his body, fall where it may. He dropped awkwardly into the cold water, and his shoulder mashed into something hard. It was the overturned roof of the vehicle. He got to his knees and checked on Yvette, relieved when he found a pulse at her throat, but he didn't dare try to move her. Not until help came. And the only way that would happen was if he crawled up the steep bank and flagged down someone.

The door wouldn't open; it was crushed like an aluminum can. So he slipped through the broken window and stood on his unsteady feet in the stream, nursing his sore shoulder and arm. He felt a sharp pain. _It's probably broken, but I don't have time to think about that. Gotta get help._ He looked up at the steep incline and knew he had to climb it. It was their only hope for rescue. With his injuries and being physically drained, he lost his grip and fell back down once. The second time, he lay staring up at the stars.

"Come on...can't give up," he whispered to himself as he sat up to try one more time. He grasped the tall grasses, using their tough root system to support his weight as he climbed. He reached the top and lay half on the shoulder to catch his breath. Sam rose to his knees, even though the gravel cut through his pants and into his skin. "Okay, You did it. Now you've gotta get up...flag someone down." But in all the time it took for him to get up to the freeway, only one car had gone past, so the prospects of finding help at this time of day were slim. He took a look back from where he came and realized that if he hadn't risked further injury, no one would have found them down there. Not until it was too late.

Sam ignored the pain of simply breathing and got to his feet. He swayed a little, but held his ground. To the north he saw some headlights. _Dear God, don't let them be our killers!_ He waved his arms, then thought better of moving the left one as the pain nearly sent him to his knees. He cradled his left arm against his body and waved his right arm frantically.

"They're stopping." He glanced up at the sky. "Thanks."

"Michael! It's Sam!"

He couldn't believe he'd just heard Fiona. He recognized the front end of the Charger as it came to a stop. Two doors slammed, and feet ran to meet him. He didn't expect Fiona to run into his body and embrace him.

Michael's voice shook uncharacteristically as he asked, "Sam, are you okay?"

"I am now," Sam replied before pitching forward and landing in their arms.

"Sam!"

"Michael, he's out." The couple set him gently down on the shoulder.

"Fi, stay up here. I'll go down there and see...see how things are."

While Sam was struggling up the hill, Yvette had regained consciousness. "Sam?" Yvette's weak voice called out to him, but there was no answer. "Sam...please say something..." The sound of running water was the only reply. "Sam, wake up. Please, honey. Wake up." She heard voices and feared that their attackers had come back to finish the job. She was trapped. There was no way to get out. She tried the door, but it was bent in and couldn't be opened.

Yvette reached for the glove compartment and carefully opened it. Inside she found the flashlight and Sam's loaded gun. She tried to grab it and the flashlight, but the gun fell into the water and sank out of reach. "Noooo," she moaned. Maps, wrinkled napkins, sticks of gum, and tiny plastic toys fell out and were washed away by the stream.

"Mom? Mom, what happened?"

"Espie, are you okay?"

"Yeah. Why are we upside down?"

Yvette shone the light into the back seat and through the cocked angle of the rearview mirror that was barely above the water, she could see Esperanza held up her arms to avoid the glare in her eyes. "It's okay, sweetie. We had a little accident, that's all."

"That was no accident, Mom. Sheesh! Those trucks ran into us and Uncle Michael's car. Why?"

"Don't worry about that right now, Espie. How is your brother?"

"I don't know. I don't see him, Mom."

Panic rose in Yvette's chest. _It wasn't enough to try to kill us. Did they take Sam and Samuel too? _She forced herself to calm down and asked, "Espie, are you sure he's not back there? Take this flashlight and look around." She waited with held breath as her daughter searched. _It's not that big of a back seat. He should be there!_

"Mom! No!" Esperanza screamed uncontrollably, trying to undo her seatbelt, causing the whole vehicle to rock with her movements. She dropped the flashlight and they were plunged into darkness, which only caused her to panic even more.

"Espie, settle down! Please!" Her calls for calm were useless. She had to free herself, then her daughter, and find her son in the dark. Her head felt strange when she righted herself after getting out of the seatbelt. But she ignored the sensation as she threaded herself through the narrow space between the front seats, and when she managed that, she easily found Esperanza free of her own seatbelt. Mother and daughter hugged with desperate arms for a brief moment, and she kissed the top of her head.

"Where's Daddy?"

"Hey, you guys okay?"

Yvette grabbed the flashlight from the cold water, turned to the sound of a voice outside, and shone the flashlight at the source. "Please! Please don't hurt us! Haven't you done enough?"

Michael held up his hands. "Yvette, calm down. It's me, Michael! Fi and I are here to help you."

"Michael? Where's Sam?" Yvette cried as she held tighter to Espie. "And Samuel? Where's my son?"

Sirens pierced the air. "You hear that, Yvette? Help's on the way, and they're going to get you all out of here and take you to the hospital."

"Where's Sam?" Yvette cried.

"He's up on the road with Fi. He's okay, Yvette." He spoke to her with soothing tones. "Think you can get out of there, so when the rescue squad comes they'll have better access to Samuel? Here, take my hand, Espie."

Esperanza took Michael's hand and he helped her out of the window. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Uncle Mike. I'm worried about my mom."

"She's okay. You just stay there a second, okay?" He gave her a quick reassuring hug and she obeyed by standing just out of the way. "Now, Yvette, you'll have to crawl through this window. I don't think this door is going to budge."

"O-okay," she replied and got down on her stomach. She had to hold her head up over the water, and she was soaked to the skin when she emerged, but he was there to grab her shivering body.

"Okay, you're safe now." He glanced up the hill and saw emergency personnel coming down with all kinds of equipment. "You're shaking. Are you cold?"

"Y-y-yes."

"Hey, she needs a blanket over here." A rescuer stopped and shone a flashlight over her.

Michael's eyes widened at the sight of blood streaming down her forehead. "Yvette, your head is bleeding, but otherwise you look okay. I'll help you up to the road where you can join Sam, and the paramedics can take a look at you."

Michael helped Yvette and a patrolman assisted Esperanza up the hill. When they got on solid ground, they saw emergency vehicles everywhere, including two ambulances. Sam sat on the back bumper of one. "Sam!" Yvette ran over to him and he stood to embrace her.

"Oh, Eve, you're okay! Espie..."

"I'm fine, Daddy!" The three melded into a group hug and stood for several minutes until the paramedic attending to Sam pulled him back down to the bumper.

"Are you okay, honey?" Yvette sat at his right side.

"I'm fine," he replied and waved his hand. "Just banged up a little. They want to take me in and x-ray my shoulder and arm, but I'm sure it's nothing a little rest won't cure."

"It's a miracle. When I came to and you weren't there...I was afraid that maybe you'd been thrown from the car or taken by Marlo's goons."

"No, I was in there until I fought my way up the bank." He knew that activity probably caused him more injury, but if he hadn't done it, he and his family might still be down in the deep ditch, dying slowly like that thug said. "Thank God Mike and Fi found us. How's Samuel?"

"I-I don't know. It didn't look good. One of his arms was trapped between the car seat and the door. There was so much blood. It was...horrifying." She paused and worked to keep her emotions in check. "I think he had a pulse, but at first I didn't know if it was just mine racing through my fingers."

They heard activity near the edge of the road, and they watched as a back board appeared on the cusp of the incline carried by two men. On it, little Samuel's body lay unmoving, bloodied and pale, and his neck was immobilized by taping his head onto the board and propping it between pieces of foam.

"Sam, he looks terrible!" Her breath came short and fast.

"Calm down, Eve, don't hyperventilate." He grasped her chin and turned her face to look at him. "Listen to me. It's okay. They'll take good care of him." The rescuers hurried past them and disappeared into the darkness beyond the vehicles. They heard the sound of helicopter blades powering down to idle. "Hear that? They're taking him by chopper back to Miami. When we get to town, we'll see him there. He'll be okay, I'm sure of it!"

Yvette stood and looked past the ambulance at the blinking red lights and saw in a flood light that they loaded Samuel onto the chopper. The doors closed, and within moments the blades spun increasingly faster and took the helicopter up into the clear sky and southward toward home.

"We need to go, Sam."

"Sir, you should go to Port St. Lucie and get checked out."

"No. We need to get to Miami ASAP and then I'll go to the hospital." He looked around. "Where are Mike and Fi?" He focused on the Charger and saw them talking to a patrolman. "Mike!" He waved his good arm to get his attention. "Hey, Mike!"

"Sir, you really need to have that arm looked at."

"After I know my son is okay," Sam stood and used his height to intimidate the smaller man.

"Sam, are you okay?"

"Okay enough, Mike. We've gotta get to Miami now!"

"Relax, Sam, we're only about an hour and a half from home." He turned to the paramedic. "Is it okay if we take them?"

"If they sign these waivers, yeah." The man held out a clipboard and stared at Sam.

Sam nearly ripped his fingers off as he grabbed it and carefully signed his name even though it was his left arm that was injured. Every flex of the muscles made him want to scream in pain, but he bit his bottom lip and restrained himself. He gave the pen and clipboard to Yvette, and she signed for herself and Esperanza.

"There. Happy?"

"Not exactly, but it's your choice, Mr. Axe."

"We'll get checked out when we get to Miami."

"I'll make sure they do," Michael added as he gently tugged Sam's shirt. "Come on, Sam. Let's go."

On the way, Sam and Yvette sat in back with Esperanza and Lucas between them. Espie pressed up against Sam's good side and alternated staring at each of them, worried that they would wind up in the hospital like Samuel. Her little brother could be a big pain sometimes, but she loved him dearly. Pictures of him in the stark flashlight beam cut into her brain, and she would never forget the horrible sight. She blinked back tears. _I have to not cry for Mom and Dad. If I start crying, they're going to cry, and I don't want to make them do that._ She glanced at Sam and in the moonlight she saw him lean his head back against the seat, hold his arm tightly against his body, and his face contorted. He held his breath and exhaled shallowly. She felt the shuddering in his chest. Esperanza was scared. _Something's wrong with him, but he won't let anybody know because then he won't get to see Sammy. But what if he dies because he didn't go to the hospital like that man said he should?_

"Dad," Esperanza spoke softly and looked up at him. He usually looked down and gave her his full attention, but not this time.

"Yeah, honey," Sam replied with a rasp in his voice.

She reached up and traced a tear running down the side of his face. "Dad, you really should go to the hospital."

"I will, sweetheart. After I know Sammy's okay."

"But, you're hurting!"

"Espie, please, let your father be. We'll be okay, don't worry." Yvette squeezed her hand.

"Mike," Sam spoke after he took another breath and let it out slowly. "Have you heard from Jack?"

"No. Fi, can you try his cell?"

Fiona dialed and plastered the phone to her ear. Then she shook her head. "It's just going to voicemail. I'm getting worried about them, Michael. They should have been back to the mainland, or at least on their way by now."

Michael sat in thought for a few moments. "Fi, when we get to Miami and I let them off at the hospital, I'm leaving you with them and going after Jack and Sasha."

"Michael, you can't go alone! I'll call Pam and see if she'll take Lucas. Then you and I are going together."

Sam and Yvette's neighbor Pam was happy to take care of Lucas. She met them at the hospital to get him, and they made a quick change of the car seat to her vehicle. Sam, Yvette, and Esperanza watched, and after Pam left, it was time for Michael and Fiona to hit the road.

"Sam, get checked out. Both of you, please!" Fiona gave Yvette a careful hug, and clasped Esperanza to herself. "You make sure your Mom and Dad take care of themselves, okay?"

"I will, Aunt Fiona." She nodded vigorously, gave Fiona one more hug, and returned to stand between her parents.

"Good luck, brother," Sam said as he looked into Michael's eyes, trying to tell himself that they would see each other again. But with Marlo on the loose, and so much damage already done, the only certain thing was that nothing was certain.

"Take care of yourself, Sam. If I find out you didn't go to the hospital and get checked out, I'll kick your..."

"Michael!" Fiona smiled sweetly at Sam and his family. "You know he means it."

"Oh yeah. You two just come back safe and in one piece, preferably with Jack and Sasha in the same condition!"


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

Jack stood on deck and stretched toward the sky as he watched the sun come up. It was another beautiful day, but at the same time, bittersweet. They were heading back to Key West today to turn the boat in, and after a little shopping on the island, they would fly back to Miami. He heard Sasha's bare feet treading up the stairs from below, and he turned to feast his eyes on his woman in the red and white sriped bikini.

"That view never gets old, does it, Jack?" She looked past him at the sunrise.

Jack gave her a lecherous grin and replied, "No, it never does."

Sasha's cheeks were already pink from overexposure to the sun and wind, but they still reddened. She chuckled and slapped him playfully on the shoulder. "I was talking about the sunrise, you goof!"

She tried to get around him to check on some clothes she left hanging on a makeshift drying line overnight, but he snagged her in an embrace. "One thing I know, next time we go sailing, no clothing except swimsuits allowed."

"If you hadn't dropped me into the ocean yesterday, I wouldn't have had to put my clothes out on the line!"

He stopped her talking with his lips on hers, making her melt in his arms. She put hers around him, smelled the sea in his hair and on his skin. She loved that scent. If only they could take it home with them. For some reason, Miami ocean just didn't give the same results. She moaned against his lips and pressed into him, and he responded.

But Jack, being a former SEAL, was always on alert. Especially after the situation with Michael's psycho fan Marlo. She was supposed to be locked away in a psych ward, but then Sam called before they began their cruise and warned him that Marlo was on the loose. He didn't tell Sasha. No need to worry her over nothing if they were out on the ocean. But now they were almost in sight of land, and strangely enough, he felt more vulnerable there than out in the middle of nowhere.

"Sash, as much as I'd like to continue this downstairs, we, uh...we really need to get going."

"Jack, something's wrong." She pulled back and studied his eyes. She was good at discerning their depths. "What aren't you telling me?"

"It's nothing, sweetheart. Let's just get back to Key West. We can spend more time shopping then, and still get home in time for supper."

She glared at him a moment, then turned out of his grip and retrieved her clothes. "Fine. I suppose if it's something serious, you'll tell me, won't you?"

"Sure." He smiled. "Now, let's get going." He hauled up the anchor, and they hoisted the sails. As he pulled on the rope to raise the larger of the two sails, he gaped at it.

"Jack, what happened? It's...it's torn practically in two!"

"I don't know how! These are strong sails!" He shook his head. "Well, it'll be slow going, but we can always go back on one sail. Let's hoist the other one."

When they unfurled it, the second sail was also torn down the middle. "I don't get it. Who could have done this? And how? We've been on the boat all this time..."

"No, remember when we went to check out that island yesterday?" He inclined his head toward a little strip of white sand far off in the distance. "While we were gone, someone could have come around and sabotaged our sails."

"Great. How are we going to get back?"

"Not a problem, Sash. This boat has an engine. We probably won't get back until tomorrow morning, but at least we'll make it back."

"Maybe I can find something to repair at least one of the sails," Sasha said as she went below.

"Good idea!" Jack stepped up to the console and primed the boat's engine. As he turned the key, Sasha came up from below, smiling.

"I found a repair kit, honey!" In that same instant, the back end of the sailboat exploded, sending Jack and Sasha flying into the water. Sasha recovered quickly and stood in the shallows, and she turned around looking for her husband. "Jack? Jack, where are you?"

The flames at the back of the boat were hot and quickly licking up the sides toward the front. She pushed through the water, going deeper until she had to swim to keep her head up above the surface. With every second of silence, anxiety pulled itself around her like a boa constrictor cutting off her circulation.

"Jack! Jack! Answer me!"

She came around the bow and headed toward the dinghy that was moored just far enough away to avoid most of the flaming debris. She found Jack floating face down next to it. Too scared to scream or cry out, she put her feet down on the bottom and used all her strength to roll him into the inflatable boat. Then she got in and worked to get him breathing again. Jack was a fighter, and when he took his first breath on his own, he thrashed around, struggling against her hold.

"It's okay, honey, it's me! It's me, Sasha!" She caressed his face until he opened his eyes and smiled at her. Then she held him, and he kissed her. When they finally broke apart, she said, "I'm so glad you didn't drown!"

"Me too. But...maybe I should almost drown more often. That was pretty good." He cocked a grin at her.

"Ohhhh, you! We almost got killed and you're making jokes! What's the matter with you?" She couldn't stay mad at him long, especially when she saw the condition of his left arm. She reached out, but hesitated to touch it. "Jack, you're burned. That looks like a second, almost a third degree burn!"

"Yeah, and it hurts like one, too." He tried to sit up and look around, but she held him down. "I don't think we've got any water on this boat." Shaking his head, he said, "Doesn't matter. I would rather we use what fresh water we have, if we have any, for drinking rather than wound care."

"Jack..."

"Don't worry, Sash. We'll get this thing started up, provided it doesn't blow up too, and we'll get back to the Key." Jack forced himself to sit up, grunting with the effort and the pain. He tried to start the motor one handed, but the pull cord was too tight. "Sash, I need...I need your help."

"Just get out of the way, Jack. I'll get it started." But all her efforts and strength yielded nothing, not even a sputter.

"Hang on a second." Jack unscrewed the cap on the gas tank and peered inside. "Just as I thought. The tank's been siphoned off." He screwed the cap on and let himself collapse onto the dinghy floor. "I wonder if Marlo did this herself, or if she hired somebody to do it for her."

"What? Isn't she in the state mental health facility?"

"She was, until a few days ago. Sam called me right before we got the boat, and he told me that she escaped." Jack shook his head. "I don't know how she would have known where we went. That woman's got more intel than the CIA for crying out loud!" He threw his good arm over his eyes and lay resting for a few minutes.

"What are we going to do?"

"The only thing we can do. Raise an SOS flag and try to stay tied down here. This flaming boat has to get some attention. Then we'll get help."

Sasha found a cooler sized box that held some fishing gear, a few bottles of water, and an orange flag with a black square and circle on it. "Is...is this the SOS flag?"

"Yeah. Have they got a staff or something to put it on?"

She rooted around in the box and found a pole. "Yeah." She looked at Jack and noted he was already starting to look sunburned. With their blonde hair and fair skin, they were targets for a severe burn if they stayed out in the sun too long. She hoped there might be some sunscreen in the box, and she found a half bottle that had expired six years ago. It was better than nothing.

With the flag flying and their bodies slathered with sunscreen, there wasn't much left to do except lay down in the dinghy. Sasha got bored and sat up for awhile, contemplating ways to attract attention. With such limited resources, her creative mind was having a hard time coming up with anything.

Eventually the sun went down and a cool breeze blew across the water. They snuggled close together for warmth; she noted that Jack was hot, and not in a good way. She pressed her hand against his forehead.

"Mmmm, babe, that feels good," he mumbled.

_It shouldn't, Jack. Mercy, you're running a fever! That arm must be infected. Oh God, please get us out of this alive and in one piece!_ She wrapped herself around him and the gentle waves lulled her off to sleep. Neither one of them thought about keeping watch in case someone would come to finish them off. They were too exhausted to care. Their water had run out in the afternoon even though they rationed it, and they were suffering from the effects of the hot sun. Sleep felt good. Maybe in the morning they would have more energy, and they could again fight for their survival.

Because of their inattentiveness, they didn't realize that the dinghy was pushed away from the sailboat carcass by the wind and waves. When they awoke the next day, they saw it on the horizon south east of their current location.

"One of us should have kept watch," Jack said as he stared at the distance. "Who knows where we'll wind up!"

"Maybe being adrift is a good thing. If we're in the Gulf Stream current, we may wind up at the Keys anyway." She shrugged. "It might just take a little longer, that's all."

"Too long, Sash. We can't survive more than another day or two without water and this sun baking us. If we had something we could make a canopy out of..."

"I looked yesterday. Whoever orchestrated this left enough for us to suffer a long time but not get any relief." Sasha let out a deep breath. "That Marlo is one really sick chick. All this because Michael refused her advances? It's...it's...incomprehensible!" She smiled slightly. "Well, at least my brain isn't completely fried. I can think up long words."

Jack lay on the dinghy floor and laughed hollowly. "You just keep thinking up long words, babe. I...I need to take a little nap."

Sasha lay beside him and checked his forehead. It was even warmer than last night. She let out another deep sigh and settled in next to him. If they were going to die, at least it was together. She caressed his scruffy cheek and kissed his jawline. As she spoke, she fought to keep the hopelessness out of her voice as she whispered, "I love you Jack. For as long as we both shall live."

_Note: I was really trying to not make this a cliffhanger, but Chapter 8 isn't ready yet, so you'll all have to wait until tomorrow for the next chapter! Sorry!_


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

Once Michael and Fiona got on the Overseas Highway, they found little traffic heading to the keys. Most of it was in the opposite direction, people heading home from a long holiday weekend. Michael sped the entire way and shaved off a considerable amount of time, thankful that they weren't stopped. Unfortunately, they had no idea where their friends rented their sailboat, so he and Fiona split up to check all of the charters along the Key West shore.

Fiona called him. "Michael, I found it. They rented a sailboat from Sandy Key Charters." She gave him directions to the establishment.

"I'm on my way." He got in the car and drove as fast as he could to get there. He saw her standing at the entrance of a little wood building talking to a grizzled old man who looked like he regularly entered Ernest Hemingway lookalike contests.

She smiled sweetly at the man as she introduced him. "Michael, this is Henry, he owns this place."

"Henry." He was certain the man's name would be Ernie, or something similar. Pushing that thought aside, he asked, "Can you tell us anything about the sailboat Jack rented? Where were they going?"

"It was a 30 footer, eight foot beam, two sails. Perfect for a couple to work together." He smiled. "It's a beauty. They were going to sail down around the Tortugas he said, and moor out there somewhere, and be back late in the day yesterday. But they never showed up."

"Do you have a GPS tracker on the boat?"

"Yeah, but I lost the signal yesterday."

Michael sighed. "I guess we'll have to start around the Tortugas then at the last location where you got a signal, and go from there." He was about to ask Henry if he had a motorized boat for rent, when the older man grinned.

"Let me get my map, and then we'll go after her."

"We?"

"Well, you're not going out there by yourselves! I may have already lost one boat, I'm not losing another!" Henry nodded, entered the small building and spoke to someone inside. He emerged with a map and a grin, and said, "Come on, I've got something a little faster than a sailboat we can use."

"Nice," Michael breathed and whistled low as he took in the sleek white cigarette boat with fancy colorful graphics on the sides.

"Reminds me of that job we did for Virgil," Fiona said under her breath.

"Yeah, don't mention that." he muttered to her. Aloud, Michael said, "This is a beauty."

"Indeed. She'll get us out there in no time!"

In less than a half hour they spotted something half way to the cluster of islands. Michael looked through the binoculars and said, "That's it! That's the boat...or what's left of it."

"What happened?" The question came out Fiona's mouth on a breath as they neared it. "It's burned down to the waterline. If it hadn't washed up on that sandbar, it probably would have sunk."

"Question is, where are those two," Henry asked as he steered the boat carefully around the shallow water and took in the sight of his ruined sailboat. "They've gotta be around somewhere!"

Emotion choked Fiona's voice. "I can't believe it." She blinked and said, "I really hoped we'd find them alive."

"I wouldn't be picking out funeral clothes yet, Fi They could have gotten away."

"He's right. This boat had an inflatable dinghy on the bow. They could have launched it if they had enough time and gotten safely away from the boat." Henry's head swiveled around, scanning the empty horizon. "Or, if they're like a lot of people, they went island hopping in the dinghy and left the sailboat here. Then it was really convenient for escaping."

Michael picked up the binoculars. He scanned the crystal clear waters in search of something, anything, that would prove that Jack and Sasha were alive. He turned in a slow circle, covering every degree, anxiety pressing up into his throat as he saw nothing but water and more water gently waving across the horizon. He passed something silver gray, stopped, and turned back to focus on it. "There. I see something out there." He pointed northwest of where the boat ran aground. "I see an orange flag. It's an S.O.S.! Henry!"

"I'm moving! Hang on tight you two!" Henry hit the throttle and sent them jumping across the gentle waves in pursuit of whatever it was that Michael saw. It was a long shot. It could be just another boat...or a lifeboat. As they neared it, Henry fought to keep his speed under control. It wouldn't do to have them hit a wave and flip over trying to rescue someone, and in turn needing rescuing themselves. "Looks like whatever it is got caught in the Gulf Stream and it's taking it up the west coast."

"It's an inflatable," Michael said as he kept watch through the binoculars and held onto the back of Fiona's seat. "Fi, I think it's them!"

"Is there any movement?" She reached up trying to get the binoculars from Michael, but he held onto them tightly.

"Ahhhhh, no. I don't see any, but I still think it's them."

In a few more minutes, they slowed and glided around the dinghy in a small circle until Henry got close enough for Michael to jump into it. Jack and Sasha were on board, looking severely sunburned. Jack's left arm was blistered, and Michael suspected it was by something hotter than the sun.

"Are they alive?" Fiona leaned over the side, wishing she could help. There was no room for her and Michael and two prostrate forms in the boat.

"Yes."

Fiona briefly closed her eyes in relief.

"Henry, can you get a little closer? Then I'll hand them up to you two, and we'll get them on your boat."

"You betcha, son! Hang on!" With a little maneuvering, Henry's boat gently kissed the side of the dinghy. He dropped anchor, and he and Fiona lifted Jack and Sasha out of Michael's grip and brought them aboard. They were so still, she couldn't believe that they were alive. "Do you have a medical kit on board, Henry?"

"Sure do. It's not much, but hopefully it'll do some good." He handed Fiona the kit. Michael boarded the boat, and together he and Fiona did what they could for their friends as Henry drove the boat at breakneck speed back to Key West.

When land was in sight, Michael got on his phone. "Detective, it's Michael Westen."

"Westen. How are you?" She sounded genuinely concerned for him. "Sam told me you and Fiona went off to the keys to find Jack and Sasha. Any luck?"

"Yes, we found them. But we're gonna need a flight for life to get them back to Miami. They were in a lifeboat for who knows how long. Their sailboat was burned."

"I'll call it in. And then you two get back here. Your friends, and your son, need you."

"That was next on my things to do list," Michael replied with a smile. "Thanks, Paxson. Any word on Marlo?"

"Nothing yet, Michael, but we have some leads."

"I hope so, because I'm not so sure she'll leave us alone until we're all dead."

"I know. That's why we're sending everybody to different hospitals with guards. Sam is at University having his arm and head looked at. Samuel is at Children's. Jack and Sasha will go elsewhere."

"How is Samuel. Have you heard anything?"

"Nothing. I've been too busy chasing down tips on Marlo."

"Thanks. We'll be back soon."

All the way back to Miami they thought about Jack and Sasha on the helicopter heading for Miami. Henry wasn't too happy about his boat, but he gave Michael a message to tell the couple that he was praying for their recovery. Michael was grateful that the holiday traffic cleared up and that the cars were driving the speed limit. He and Fiona held hands all the way, thankful that they hadn't fallen victim to Marlo's deadly plans, but hoping that none of their friends succumbed.

Fiona called Yvette's cell phone. "Hello?"

"Yvette, it's Fiona."

"Fi! Where are you guys?"

She briefly recapped their trip to the keys and the results. When she finished, she asked, "How's Sam doing?"

"He's going to be fine. He has a broken humerus, up near his shoulder. Fortunately, it's not severe enough to require surgery, but he'll have a little trouble with the nerve...the radial nerve, is what the doctor called it. At least for a little while, but it shouldn't be permanent. So if Michael intends for him to help with any jobs in the next few months, he can forget about it."

"They didn't put him in a cast, did they?" Michael glanced over at Fi, but she ignored the questions in his eyes.

"No, they can't, not with this type of fracture. He's in a splint right now, though, and he needs time to heal."

"He'll be okay. That's the important thing."

"Yeah. He had quite a concussion too, but he's recovering nicely. In a day or so he can probably come to see Samuel." She paused. "I just hope that Marlo is caught by then. They have police protection on us all 24/7."

"Unfortunately, I think it's come down to a waiting game. With all of us in the same area, she'll have no choice but to pick one hospital to make her move. How are you holding up? How's Samuel?"

"Espie and I have a few bumps and bruises, but we're okay, too." She paused. "Samuel has a fractured arm, a severe concussion, and bleeding on the brain. He's in the ICU now, and they'll only let Sam or me in to see him." She paused. "But he's going to make it, Fiona. We believe."

"I'm so sorry, Yvette. I wish there was something we could have done. If we could have gotten back to you sooner..."

"No, it wouldn't have mattered, the doctor said. All we can do right now is pray and wait. How are Jack and Sasha? Did they escape Marlo's sick plan?"

"I'm afraid not. They're on the way to a Miami hospital as we speak. We'll let you know when we have more information on them."

"Okay. Thanks, Fi." She let out a deep sigh. "They've had reports on the television about Marlo. I hope they catch her soon. Not only for everyone's safety, but...it's driving Sam crazy, between worrying about Samuel and not being able to go out looking for her. Not that I want him to look for trouble, but you know..."

Fiona smiled. "Yes, I know exactly what you mean. We'll see you in a little while, Yvette."

After Fiona ended the call, she got Michael up to speed on everyone's condition. He was usually good at hiding his emotions, but after all they'd been through, he blinked as he kept driving, and his face showed the slightest hint of pain for his best friend and his family. "Poor Sam and Yvette. If they lose Samuel..." He couldn't finish the sentence. The idea was too heartbreaking. "If we lost Lucas, I'd be devastated, Fi. He's all we've got. I mean, they have Esperanza, but...but he's their own flesh and blood." He swallowed hard and fell silent, wishing for all of this to be over soon.

They were almost to Miami when he spoke again. "Fi, we've got to do something to trap Marlo. I have a suspicion that she's going to go after the kids now, and Samuel will probably be first, since he's in such a...precarious...position right now."

"But he's in the ICU. Nobody gets in without permission!"

"If she goes in dressed as medical personnel, it's easy. Remember, she walked out of the facility wearing scrubs, so she's probably capable of equipping herself to slide in without anyone noticing until it's too late." He shifted in his seat, turned in to the Children's Hospital parking lot, and found a space. He turned off the car and said, "I know just how we're going to get her."


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

Marlo was not happy. All her schemes came to nothing. Everything was perfectly planned, and yet human intervention caused it all to go horribly wrong. She tried to remove some of the variables, but like cockroaches, they kept coming back. Her final act of desperation wasn't cheap. She used up her savings to hire those men to run Michael and Sam off the road and blow up Jack's boat. As she sat in a diner in Coral Gables watching the morning news, it was all she could do to keep from losing her breakfast all over what she hadn't touched yet.

"So Michael, you got away clean, and Sam and his family survived." She muttered under her breath. "Jack and his wife will too, thanks to you." She set her coffee cup down hard enough to rattle the saucer and cause a waitress to give her the eye. Marlo glared at her, threw down some money, not bothering to see if she got change, and left.

_ Good thing I got these scrubs cleaned. They'll be the perfect cover for what I need to do._

Marlo entered Children's hospital and was amazed at how easily she was able to find and reach Samuel's floor without being questioned. When the reporter on the television said Samuel had recovered enough to be moved to a regular room, she was disappointed, but also elated. It would make getting access a lot easier. She needed that, because there were so many factors beyond her control with this plan, it would be amazing if she could pull it off. As she walked down a hall, a nurse came out of a room that she saw was stocked with medical supplies. She smiled at the woman and ducked in before the door closed and locked behind her. The room had everything she needed to make this work. Marlo found a stethoscope and threw it around her neck, loaded up her pockets with gloves and other things a nurse might carry. All the better to hide the syringe and the medication she picked out of a cabinet. She didn't know what it was, but most likely it would work in a large dose to do what she wanted it to do.

"There. Now let's get this over with, shall we?" She smiled at herself in a mirror placed near the door, then pulled it open and made her way to Samuel's room. It too was easy to find, thanks to a computer that had been left unattended. She whispered, "Ah, there it is. Lucky 793."

She stopped just short of the door and listened. There were no voices, just the sound of a heart monitor beeping in one of the other rooms. Her head came around the corner and she peered inside. The child was alone, and she couldn't help but beam at her luck. Slowly, softly, she entered the room. Marlo's hand reached for the syringe and the medication, and she loaded it up as she neared the bed. She was too distracted to notice that he was not as alone as she thought.

"Freeze, Marlo."

Marlo stopped and her eyes turned to the right with a fake bright expression. "Michael! How nice to see you again!" She held up the syringe and slipped the bottle back into her pocket.

"Give me that, Marlo. You're not going to hurt this child. You've done enough."

"I haven't even begun, Michael. You rejected me, and now everyone you know will pay for your mistake." She lunged for the bed, but she didn't count on Fiona grabbing her arms and pulling her back.

The momentum took the two women to the floor. Fiona got the brunt of it landing on her back, but she quickly recovered and wrapped her legs around Marlo, who was stunned. She quickly discovered that a woman's love for her family and friends far outweighed an obsession over one man, and for Marlo herself, it was a time of reckoning. She tried to break free, but Fiona was too powerful.

"Let...me...go!"

"When hell freezes over," Fiona ground out as she squeezed harder.

"Fi!" Michael could only stand by and watch as his wife rolled around on the floor with a dangerous woman. He'd never seen her so enraged, and frankly, it scared him.

Marlo got into a position where she tried to elbow Fiona, but Fiona turned it away forcefully. Marlo cried out in pain and dropped the syringe. Fiona grabbed for it, but Marlo recovered and jabbed at Fiona's leg. She missed, but then she tried again and the needle stuck her through her jeans. Fiona clamped her arm around Marlo's throat and squeezed. Every ounce of Fiona's rage came out in her grip, and within a few seconds, Marlo was unconscious.

Michael reached for the syringe and pulled it out. "Fi, you can let go of her now."

"No," Fiona cried as her hold tightened. Marlo's face turned colors.

"Fi...no! Don't end it like this."

"She is not getting away this time!" Marlo lay limp in her clutches.

Michael spoke in a soft voice, lightly touching her back. "No, she's not, honey. She's going away for a long time. I guarantee it." He caressed Fiona's arm. "It's okay, let her go. Our backup is here." He glanced up at the officers who had been watching Samuel but were dispatched to come and get Marlo.

Her eyes on the officers, Fiona's anger dissipated as she slowly relaxed her muscles and relinquished Marlo to their capable hands. Michael helped Fiona stand.

"Thank you, Michael." She slowly dusted herself off and straightened her top. "I'm...I'm fine." Without warning, she collapsed in his arms.

"Oh great," he muttered, worried about what it was in that syringe. He yelled, "Hey, we need some help here!"

Fiona woke up some time later and found Michael, Sam, and Yvette standing over her with anticipation written on their faces. She looked around and realized she was on the bed that their decoy, a resuscitation dummy, had occupied earlier. "What? What happened?"

"Marlo injected you with a sedative, Fi," Sam replied. "You went nighty night for a little while there, but fortunately she didn't give you enough to kill you." He smiled. "Glad to see that."

She smiled at Sam. "Thank you." She carefully sat up, and Michael slipped onto the bed next to her. "Where is she? Where's Marlo?"

"The police took her away. She's going to get some major attention and they're making sure she's more securely locked up this time," Michael replied as he put his arm around her. "We don't have to worry about her anymore."

Fiona breathed a sigh of relief. "Now we just have to worry about Samuel."

"The doctors said he's getting better," Sam announced with an emotional crack in his voice. "They're hoping he'll be able to move to a regular room for real in about a week or so."

"Sam, that's still so long!"

"Better than not at all." His eyes reflected relief, but contained a sadness that they even had to be in this situation.

"That's a positive way of looking at it. Do they know how long he could be in the hospital?"

Yvette answered. "It all depends on whether there are any neurological injuries. It's still too soon to tell."

"He's a strong kid, Sam. He's going to make it and get back to normal."

"I sure hope you're right, Mike."

Every day Samuel showed some progress. As the doctors predicted, within a week they moved him to a regular room. He enjoyed more periods of wakefulness and interacted with his family.

"Home, Mama. I wanna go home. I don't like it here."

Yvette had been looking out the window, alone with Samuel, thinking about the upcoming Christmas holiday. Sam was at his physical therapy session and Esperanza was in school, so she had the watch by herself. In the beginning she always had company with several visitors, but as Samuel's stay lengthened, fewer people came, thinking that giving him space would be more conducive for his healing. Yvette wasn't so sure about that, but she wouldn't let misguided notions tear her from their friends. She knew they meant well.

When she heard Samuel speak clearly, she whirled and stepped to his bedside with a big smile on her face. It was the most he'd said since before the tragedy began, and it was at that moment that she was confident everything would be okay. "You're getting much better, aren't you, honey?" She brushed the dark brown hair back from his forehead and looked into his clear brown eyes.

"I wanna go home. Santa won't come here, Mama."

"Oh, of course he will. What makes you think that?"

"It's not home. I have to be at home, or he won't know where I am!" Yvette hugged him, and at that moment, his doctor came into the room.

After a battery of tests, the doctor gave them the news they'd been wanting to hear for so long. "Samuel is free to go home at the end of the week."


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

Michael sat in a chair near the open door to the balcony, watching the waning moon. Fiona was asleep. After all they'd been through, she was tired. But he couldn't sleep, especially when Lucas babbled in his crib, so Michael got him out and sat with him. Father and son shared a bottle of beer and water respectively and sat in silence. Lucas stopped, looked up at Michael, and babbled something softly.

"I wish I knew baby, Luke," Michael replied with a smile.

"Baba," Lucas said and pressed his bottle into Michael's chest. "Baba."

"You done with your bottle?" Michael got the message and set it aside.

Lucas chattered on and bounced in Michael's lap. He knew what that meant. His smile turned into a grin as he held the boy up under his arms and let his feet little feet touch his thighs. Lucas pressed into him hard, then let up and did a little jig. Whenever he did that, Michael laughed. When the boy tired of the antics, he reached for Michael, and his arms wrapped themselves around his father's neck. They both sighed softly, and Michael held him tightly to his chest. He sat there so long, the baby fell asleep on his shoulder while he reflected on what he had and what one woman's obsession had nearly cost.

Somehow, he and his family came out relatively unharmed. Ironic, when he was the target of Marlo's affections, and then her revenge. She chewed a path of destruction up to him, harming everyone in her way, but leaving him untouched. He felt guilty for that. He should have been the one in the ditch, or on that sailboat. He couldn't understand why she targeted his friends. Did she think that would win her sympathy points? If anything, it did the exact opposite. It just showed how unstable she was.

The thing that scared him the most was that there was no way anyone could have prevented this. Other than living in a bubble, or on some deserted island somewhere, where he couldn't have an impact on anyone's life but his family's, maybe then there would be peace. But it would be peace at a price, the kind he wasn't willing to pay. People needed them, and they would continue to help. There might be more Marlos in their future, but they would do the best they could to fend them off.

Michael leaned forward until Lucas lay across his lap. He was getting so big, and he didn't fit over Michael's forearm anymore. When did that happen? He hadn't realized how much time had already passed, and he marveled at his son. Lucas was a beautiful child. He had Fi's smile and her eyes, but his hair was darkening slowly like Michael's, and he had his father's nose, chin, and strong body. Michael took some time studying him in his sleep and felt a wave of love wash over him. When Lucas was born, he was scared of little kids. No, he was intimidated because he didn't know how to relate to them. Being surrounded by kids like Esperanza, Samuel, and his own son changed all that, and he now felt confident in their company. As he sat with his son, Michael tried to imagine what life would be like with another.

Maybe, in time, once he'd learned how to balance work and family like Sam did, they could try to expand their family. In the meantime, there was so much to do and so many who needed him. He carefully placed Lucas in his crib and went to bed to try to sleep, because he had a big day coming up and he needed to be well-rested. It was the first case of the new year. Sam and Jack were in with him. As much as he enjoyed the time off, he could hardly wait to get back in action, and hopefully this time it wouldn't involve psychotic, murderous women chasing after them.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

Michael and Fiona were asleep in the hammock in the shade. Sam and Yvette came back from the beach with the kids, not sure what they would find, but Sam hoped that they'd be decent at least. They were clothed, and they looked so sweet together, he snapped a picture.

"Mama, Daddy!" Lucas tottered over to the hammock and pushed on it, setting it slightly in motion.

"Luke, leave them alone," Sam urged gently as he led the little boy away to the picnic table. "Aunt Yvette's got some treats for you guys. Come on over here." Sam placed him on the bench, and the little boy bounced on his knees as Yvette served the kids some cut up fruit.

"Mommy, I want mallows," Samuel said. "Why no mallows?"

Yvette sighed. They'd already been through this once before, but Samuel loved his marshmallows, and he found it incomprehensible that any being on the planet could love them as much as he. "Because the raccoons got them...again..."

"It wouldn't have happened if you hadn't left them out last night, you dummy," Esperanza said as she studied a slice of banana before popping it into her mouth.

Samuel yelled, "I'm not a dummy!" He nearly pushed his sister off the bench.

"Hey, you two! Knock it off, or neither of you gets to go to the playground later," Sam said as he snuck a strawberry from Esperanza's plate.

"Dad!" She was fast and grabbed his hand.

Sam laughed, leaned over, and wrapped his ams around her. He gave her a kiss on the cheek and rocked her before letting go. "Man, these kids are like sharks when it comes to their food. I'm telling ya!"

At the sound of voices, Michael woke up. He nudged Fiona, and she opened her eyes behind her sunglasses and watched the scene being played out at the picnic table. She smiled and curled closer into Michael's side. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and kissed her cheek as he placed a hand on her growing belly. Life had been good over the past six months, and they had a lot to be thankful for. Now they were on spring break with the kids, and Samuel and Maddie came along. Their site was full with three tents and so many people, but they wouldn't have it any other way.

"Hey, what's going on over here? Some neighbors we've got Sash, they're so noisy," Jack said as he and Sasha walked from the campsite next door, hand in hand. Other than some deep scarring on his arm, no one would ever know that anything had happened to him.

"I don't know how Michael and Fiona can sleep with all this racket," Sasha added as she glanced at the couple and smiled.

Fiona grinned. "We're just lazing around here watching all of you. But, if you don't mind, Michael, I need a little help getting up." Michael wordlessly helped her get out of the hammock and also stood.

"I take it it's time for..."

"Yes, sweetheart. We pregnant ladies have to stick together, don't we, Sash?"

Sasha grinned. "Oh yeah. We'll be right back." The two women walked to the restroom; Sasha's gait from behind still had not changed much, despite her growing mid-section.

Jack offered Michael, Sam, and Samuel a beer. As he twisted off the top, Sam felt a little twinge in his shoulder, something that the doctor assured him would eventually go away with plenty of therapy and exercise. With Michael's help, it was coming along nicely. He took a swig of his beer and said, "You know, Jack, I never would have expected you to be a father. Never in a million years."

"Yeah, well, you guys make it look so easy. Sasha was getting a little envious of all the love that seems to go around with kids, so...we took the plunge."

"It's not always this great, you know." Sam glanced at the bunch who had settled down to eat their snack with no more fights or tantrums.

"I guess it's more like having our lives almost pulled out from under us that got us thinking what was important. Then Sash admitted that she always wanted kids. We never talked about it, not seriously, anyway." He took a drink. "So we'll see how it goes, I guess."

"It's the biggest mission of your life," Michael advised.

"But it's also the best," Sam added, and he and Michael clinked beer bottles.

"Just wait. The grandkids are the best part!" Samuel chimed in.

"One thing at a time, Samuel," Jack said as he sat near the cold fire pit and basked in the warmth of a beautiful spring day, spent with his best friends and family that he felt like he and Sasha were part of. "I don't want it to go by too fast."

"Good luck with that, bro." Sam said as he watched his young son. He would always bear the physical scars on his arm and side of his face, but he bounced back and was like any other three year old going on four in another couple of months. Some day he would be grown up and on his own, and Sam hoped that by then he would have taught his kids enough to keep them safe and help them survive the crazies of the world.

"Hey, who's up for a little trip into town," Samuel asked. "Maddie and I want to go do a little sight seeing."

"I do grampa!"

"I do too!"

By the time everything was organized, Maddie and Samuel borrowed Sam and Yvette's new vehicle, a crossover like the one they lost to Marlo's desperate act, and took the grandkids into town with them. The others stayed behind and enjoyed the quiet.

"It's nice to have some peace for awhile," Sam said as he reclined in the hammock with Yvette.

"I agree." Michael was itching to talk to Sam and Jack about a new client, but it would keep until after they returned to Miami. For now, it was enough to spend time relaxing. He'd finally gotten the hang of it, and when he had the opportunity, he grabbed on with both hands and wouldn't let go.


End file.
